National Emergency Family Registry System and Child Locator Center Activated For California Fires

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has activated its National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System and National Emergency Child Locator Center to help reunite families that have become separated as a result of the fires in California.

By calling the Family Registry and Locator System call center at 1-800-588-9822, people who have been separated from their families and friends can provide information about themselves and where they can be found. At the same time, families looking for lost family members are urged to call the toll-free number as they search for them.

Registration is voluntary, and displaced persons are asked to identify individuals to whom they want to provide information about their location and other personal matters. The call center is capable of handling calls in Spanish and uses a relay system for communicating with people who are hard of hearing. The call center is operational 24-hours a day.

For those who have become separated from children 21 and younger, FEMA has activated the National Emergency Child Locator Center to help them, local and tribal governments, and law enforcement agencies track and locate children who have become separated from their parents or guardians. The toll-free number for the Child Locator Center is 1-866-908-9570; and it is staffed 24-hours a day.

The Center's operations are managed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, with support from FEMA. Persons registering as or searching for a displaced child 21-years-old or younger will be directed to the Center, which will help them locate their families or guardians.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.